What Do I Do When I Have Been Disobedient? - Day 2

Alright so yesterday I left you to think all day about maybe some of the things that we let take the place of God in our love relationship with Him.  We said that allowing something to replace God in our lives is an act of disobedience.  So let's look at the first step of what we need to do when we have disobeyed

Realize your disobedience.

Read Revelation 2:1-5 again....

Revelation 2:4 warns us, "you have abandoned the love you had at first."

I used to work with disobedient students all the time when I was a coach/teacher back in Knoxville.  It didn't matter what I asked some kids to do, even if it was the simplest thing in the world, it would turn into a circus of disobedience and disrespect!  I remember telling a kid one time that he was gonna have to wait like 10 minutes before he could go to the water fountain because we were right in the middle of a test....simple to understand right?  I mean I didn't even tell him no....I just told him he had to be patient for another 10 minutes.  Well this kid went on a rampage....he shoved all his books in the floor, screamed out some "fun" school words, and made the biggest scene ever!  It ended up with him going to the office and spending the rest of the day in in-school suspension....all for a drink of water!

We are disobedient to God everyday.  Does it sometimes come off looking like the kid I just mentioned?

Ephesus was one of the most important (if not the most important) cities in Asia Minor.  It was located at the mouth of a river and was an important commercial and trade city.  The church at Ephesus was a very important and prosperous church.  Paul planted the church and it grew quickly.  It had been challenged by false prophets and the church had risen up and removed those men from the congregation.  The church had done many great things for the kingdom of God.  But, along the way, their priorities had shifted and their love for God had diminished.

It's really tough for us to admit when we have done something wrong.  We try to blame everybody except ourselves.  It is hard for us to take responsibility for our actions.  Disobedience surfaces in a person's life in a lot of different ways.  For many folks it's through actions, words, or how we behave ourselves.  God has the ability to look into a person's life and see areas of selfishness and rebellion.  It is important for us to realize our disobedience and stop trying to hide it.

What would be some positive things God would say in regard to your obedience to Him?  What about negative comments?

So the first step for us to take is really the toughest....to realize that we're in the wrong.  The challenge today is for you to try to step up and admit where you are in the wrong with God and admit it to him today!

Alright we'll see all our Bridge Ministry folks tonight at the church at 4:45!  Gonna be a blessed time tonight!  Check out Facebook for more info on the rest of the Take Back the City event this week!  Later.

Heffe

What Do I Do When I Have Been Disobedient? - Day 1

Welcome to Monday everybody!  It's gonna be a busy week with Take Back the City this week and our trip to ATL next Monday and Tuesday!  Hope to see you guys there!

Alright so yesterday morning in Family Groups we talked about why we disobey God even when we know we shouldn't.  This week we are going to look at what happens when we have been disobedient.  Let's jump right in!

If I asked you to stand up this morning if you considered yourself as obedient to your parents, then most of you would probably be standing at your computers or with your phones or wherever else you're reading this.  But what if I asked you to stand if you would describe yourself as obedient to God?  Would you still be standing up?

Read Revelation 2:1-5

We all got to ask ourselves if we are guilty of replacing our love for God with our love for something else.  That is disobedience!

So today all I want you to focus on are the possible things that you are replacing God with in your love life.  We'll examine them a little closer tomorrow!

Also, if you're going to go to The Bridge with us tomorrow night we will meet at the church at 4:45 and plan on leaving @ 5:00.  Message me or text me if you have any questions.

Heffe

What Situations Give Me A Pass on Obeying - Day 5

Alright so let's wrap up this week.....so if you've missed anything, just go back and review the past blogs for this week.

Yesterday we camped out on the point that we should obey even when we are afraid.  We talked about how Abram followed God with blind faith and was obedient, but he was definatley a little scared.

Check out this quote...

"Rest in this - it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call or whatever you want to call it.  It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond, or what have you."  Jim Elliot.

Do you believe God will take care of you if you step out on blind faith?  Why or why not?

What is something that you have done with our youth group that has been out of your comfort zone ( maybe such as MFUGE or Bridge Ministry, or maybe it's coming up at Take Back the City next week)?

What did you learn from that experience?

How has God proven Himself to be faithful to you in the past?  How can those experiences help you trust Him in the future?

What are some things about your future (college, marriage, career) of which you are afraid?  How can God help you in those areas?  Do you trust God in those areas?

Imagine we were at church and all of a sudden we have a fire drill!  I stand up and call for everybody's attention and I tell you guys to get on your hands and knees and to follow me out of the room.  I tell you guys to remain calm and to stay directly behind me and close to me.  So I lead you guys outside the building safely.  Then lets' say I gather you all up outside the building and tell you guys it was only a drill - there wasn't a real fire.  Don't you think it's interesting how you guys would be willing to follow me on your hands and knees without asking too many questions?  You trusted me and you followed me without knowing where we were going or why we were going there.

If you will follow me or Coat with blind faith, why won't you follow God?

The point of this week has been to emphasize that we need to follow God regardless.  What does that mean to you?  What can you do this week to follow God more completely?

See ya on Sunday morning!

Heffe

What Situations Give Me A Pass on Obeying - Day 4

Alright....it was good to see a lot of you guys last night at IGNITE...look forward to seeing more of you Sunday morning at SS.  Ok....quick review....we're talking about situations where a lot of times we might think we can get a free pass on obedience so that we don't have to do what God commands us.  We've already seen that we need to obey even when it doesn't make sense and we've also seen we need to obey even when we don't know all the details....so here's one more situation to talk about...

Obey even when you are afraid.


What kinds of things cause you fear?  What is the one thing of which you are most afraid?  Why?

Ok so let's read Genesis 15:1 today...

What we see is that Abram was willing to uproot his entire family and lifestyle in order to obey God.  However, God knew Abram was concerned and a little afraid about the move.  God appeared to Abram and gave him comfort and reassurance that he would be alright.  God even promised Abram that He would be his shield and his protector.  Abram had God's promise that he and his family would be taken care of by God.  He was even promised a great reward for following God in blind faith!

Change can be a really scary thing.  Most people had rather things stay the same in their lives.  When there is no change then everyone knows what to expect and what to do.  When we are asked to step out of our comfort zone and go in a direction we have never gone before, it makes us very uncomfortable and sometimes even scared.  It is important for us to understand that when God calls us to a task He will equip us for that task.  If God calls, God provides!

What are some of the comfort zones in your life?  How hard is it for you to step out of those comfort zones?

We're gonna camp out on this point and hit it again tomorrow for a little bit!  Have a great day everybody!

Heffe

What Situations Give Me A Pass on Obeying - Day 3

What up youthies.....well it's Wednesday and that means another night together when IGNITE hits @ 6 PM.  Make sure to be there tonight as we tackle some questions about other Gods and we might have a little 4 on a Couch action...gonna be sweet!

Ok, so this week we are trying to determine if there are any situations where we can have a free pass from obeying God.  The first two days this week we spent talking about why we should obey even when it doesn't make any sense.  So that lets us know that we don't get a free pass to disobey if we use the excuse that we don't understand what's going on.

Let's look at another type of situation today, and what we should do if we are found in it.

Obey even when you don't know all the details.


Read Genesis 12:1-4 again today.

God did not tell Abram where he was going or how long it would take him to get there.  God did not promise him a smooth trip.  God did, however, promise Abram that He would be blessed because of his obedience.  Abram never questioned God about any of the details surrounding his new adventure.  He followed God's commands and left the planning up to God.

Why didn't Abram question God's instructions?  Why didn't Abram ask for more details?  I mean that's what we would have done right?

If you could ask God about some specific details of your life or your future, what would you ask?  What difference would that information make in the decisions you make now?

Often, God will call us to do something we are not expecting.  When God calls and gives us a command, we must follow.  We have to understand that we are not in control when God calls us, He is!  We may want to know every little detail about the trip, but we don't have to know.  Rest assured God knows where He is taking you and God has already worked out all the little details in your trip.  God doesn't need your help with directions.

When was the last time you and your family went on vacation?  Did you help them plan the trip?

Do you trust your parents to take you somewhere safely and bring you back?

Do you trust God to take you somewhere - guiding you and providing for you?

What make it hard to follow God when you don't know all the details?  Why would God want us to follow without knowing all the details?

Think on those things today, and we'll see ya at IGNITE tonight @ 6 in The Attic!

Heffe

What Situations Give Me A Pass On Obeying - Day 2

Gooooood Tuesday morning!  This week we are looking at obedience and if there are ever situations that we can get a "free pass" so to speak, from being obedient to God.  Yesterday we talked about the importance of obeying God even when it doesn't make sense.  We camped out in Genesis 12: 1-4 so I encourage you to read it again to refresh your brain a little bit!

So, you read it right?  Ok good.

Ok, so Abram had lived in the same place for a really long time.  His entire world revolved around his family, land, and livestock.  Sounds exciting, huh?  He probably planned on living there the rest of his life. He thought he had his life planned out.  But God had other plans for him.  God told him to pack up everything he owned and leave the land he loved so much - and leave his parents and other extended family members.  This must have been a huge shock to Abram and his family.

Sometimes God will instruct us to do things that don't make sense.  Many times we will plan out every detail of our lives and never consider what God may want us to do.  It's important for us to always be willing to obey God's voice.  Faith is following God when you don't understand what He is doing in your life.

Has your family ever moved from one city to another?  How did it feel to make that move?

Did your family move because God instructed them to move?

How did Abram know it was God telling him what to do?  How do you know when God is leading you to do something?

Think about those things and we'll see ya tomorrow on the blog and tomorrow night at 6 in the Attic for another Ask Anything night!

Heffe

What Situations Give Me a Pass on Obeying - Day 1

What up e'rebody!  It's good to be back in the G'ville after a great week at M-Fuge in Charleston last week.  I hope that we will have new visitiors joining the blog for the first time today so let's jump right in.

All month we've been talking about obedience and more specifically our obedience to God.  The first week we learned that our obedience to God starts by loving God and then loving others.  We learned that are obedience shows itself when we love God, walk in His ways, keep His commands, remain faithful to HJim and serve Him.

The second week we saw that the reason that we should obey God is that by doing so it shows our love for Him.  We saw that our obedience to God provides benefits for us such as getting to experience the love God, getting to enjoy the fellowship of God, and getting to express our relationship with God.

Yesterday morning, Andrew tackled the issue of partial obedience with you guys and we learned that partial obedience is really disobedience...not an easy thing to hear right?

Ok, so this week we are going to spend some time talking about whether or not there are any situations where you can get a free pass on obeying God.  So let's get into the word a little bit!

What we are going to see is that the Bible encourages us to obey God no matter what the situation.  That can be really, really tough, especially when we can't see the end result!  This week is going to help us understand the importance of not questioning God, but rather just following Him!

So here's the first point for the week:

Obey even when it doesn't make sense!


We're going to spend a couple of days on this one so let's just kinda introduce it today.  Have you ever had to follow some directions that you thought were totally ignorant?  Imagine if I pulled you up front Wednesday night at Ignite and told you to follow my directions regardless of how ridiculous they might sound.  What if I asked you to hold your breath for a minute and then to walk backward while barking like a seal; spin around 14 times and then do 8 jumping jacks; jump up and down while singing "Bye, Bye, Bye" and so on.....Would you do it?

Sometimes we are supposed to follow instructions even if they don't make sense!

Read Genesis 12:1-4........

Why didn't God instructions make sense?  What would you have done?

Think about that today and also think about how well you follow directions.....do you question everything you're asked to do?  Leave me some feedback or thoughts if you guys actually have any :)  Hope you have a great  Monday!

Heffe